Sunday, November 11, 2007
Football Injury Hits Home, Pt. 3
Live and learn.
"Can You Autograph My Cone, Sir?"
Last Licks shops have been the host to many NYC athlete signings, and even BGS has graded onsite amongst the sticky tables. But I am trying to imagine Montana, winner of four Super Bowls, pausing to reflect on the absurdity of the situation and wondering, "Am I actually sitting in an ice cream shop signing autographs?"
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Animal Control Pole
$30 Million Guaranteed
This Dallas columnist says Romo won't be changed by his new $67.5 million contract, of which $30 million is guaranteed up front. The kid would play for free if nobody else got paid, either.
Ummm....ok.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Where is the Stanford Band?
This version has the visiting announcers from Trinity College calling the play at Millsaps College (Jackson, Miss.) BTW, Millsaps in November 2006 knocked out this same Trinity team in the conference championship game on this same field.
Some things to watch for:
- The play consumes more than one minute.
- Look at the folks in the bleachers.
- Look at fallen Millsaps players on the field after the game.
- You can see the chain gang leaving together after its over, probably shaking their heads in disbelief.
- One Millsap player is injured on the final lateral.
Please comment on anything else you see.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Playing left field Bugs Bunny, pitcher Bugs Bunny, second base Bugs Bunny . . .
Absolutely brilliant.
We've all seen the 1946 cartoon "Baseball Bugs" about a gajillion times over the years, but this post takes it to a new level of "scholarly" discussion
It's a bit of a long read, but stick with it, or come back to it when you have more time.
Among the troubling questions addressed by the author are:
1. Why would a team of extremely strong, young men play a game against a team of extremely old, weak men?
2. Why would over fifty thousand people attend such a game?
Monday, October 15, 2007
You Were Good, Kobi, Very Good
Kobi Gregg, a brown -- almost reddish -- male Lab finished a great life. He was 12, and he was my back fence neighbor.
Kobi (above left) was a tireless retriever of all things Frisbees, balls, bones, discs, rags, whatever. He would spiral swim to the bottom of the pool to bring back a chew toy to Jim or Melanie, his beloved masters.
But I swear, this dog was different. In his prime, he should have been in some sort of canine Olympics. His vertical leap was as impressive as his speed, and I saw it on a daily basis in his half acre backyard. I am not impressed easily by a dog's athleticism, but Kobi was special.
Given different circumstances, Kobi would have ended up in a national showcase for Frisbee dogs, rounding the country to appreciative crowds at state fairs, exhibitions and even TV events. He had the heart of a champion.
As it was, he was Melanie and Jim's pet Lab. And that's the best part of Kobi's story.
RIP Kobi. You were good. You were very good.
Friday, October 12, 2007
The Greatness of Lennon
He say, one and one and one is three
Got to be good lookin' 'cause he's so hard to see
Simple and clever Come Together, indeed.
BTW, the Liverpool airport, operational since 1933 (think about where aviation was at that time), was renamed Liverpool John Lennon Airport in 2002. Are there any other major airports named for musicians?
Thursday, October 11, 2007
A Classic Illustration
That was the year "Bullet" Bob Hayes, once hearalded as "The World's Fastest Human," passed away at age 59.
I won't go into all of Hayes' football records for the Dallas Cowboys, but remember that Hayes as a track star was both quick and fast.
His 9.1 in the 100-yard dash in 1963 was a world record that stood for 11 years. He also was the first man to run the 60 in less than six seconds, posting a 5.9 in an indoor run.
He won two Gold Medals in the 1964 Olympics, the 100-meter and the anchor on the 4x100 relay.
This is one of my favorite Cowboys illustrations, inked by none other than Dallas native Bill Deore, whose work we enjoyed for three decades in the Dallas Morning News.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
They Got Him
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Big Tex, Ginormous Crowds on Columbus Day
Did I mention the high temperature was 94? And that was in the shade at DFW International, not on the asphalt jungle of a crowded Midway.
Monday, October 8, 2007
"Mother Doesn't Plant Trees!"
Dolph ran off some great players because they couldn't hack his tough approach to the game, and his demands for total commitment to the team and to baseball. But I guess they really weren't that great if they were only playing for personal glory.
Dolph, a member of the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, coached great teams in Dallas at Crozier Tech and Bryan Adams from the early 1960s through the 1980s before he died of cancer in 1993. Many of his former players continue to teach baseball at high schools and in select baseball programs across Texas.
I was honored when the family requested that I help carry him the final time around the bases.
"Mother Doesn't Plant Trees?" That was Dolph's way of saying that in baseball, when the ball comes your way, there is nowhere to hide, no huddle to return to, no fast break the other way. It's just you and the ball -- and whatever happens, everybody sees. So you damn sure better be ready.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Please Stop Be*lieving
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Football Injury Hits Home Pt. 2
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
No Games Anywhere Yesterday
Standard Answer: The day before and after the MLB All-Star Game.
Updated Answer: And, October 2 (yesterday).
Very strange.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Football Injury Hits Home
This time, it's Drew's turn to pay the price for playing football. I hope that price is not too high. We'll find out more tomorrow.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Monarchs on the Move Agan
Friday, September 28, 2007
Why?
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Who's On First?
My son and I were watching Rain Man the other night. The movie's main character, an autistic man named Raymond (Rayn-mon) played by Dustin Hoffman, recites Abbott and Costello's "Who's On First" routine when stressed.
How long has it been since you've watched the entire "Who's On First"? Enjoy.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Joba Chamberlain Ain't No Coward -- Airline Photos of Yankees in Oz
But on Monday, the man with what seems to be a billion dollar arm strode courageously through two airports and onto a charter flight dressed as the Cowardly Lion (click on the photo left for a closer look at Chamberlain).
$753,000 Bonds 756 HR Ball to be Branded with Asterisk
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Gundy Delivers Hall of Fame News Conference
Then came Gundy's vitriolic Satruday afternoon soliloquy aimed at The Daily Oklahoman columnist Jenn Carlson, whose game-day article painted benched OSU quarterback Bobby Reid a gutless mama's boy. "This makes me want to PUKE!," said Gundy, who said he didn't read the column until minutes before walking into this interview room, and only then at the behest of several people "close to the organization."
In a Monday news conference, Gundy said he would not comment any more on the article or his reaction to it, then proceeded to field questions about the incident for the next three minutes.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Scoring in Wisconsin? 'They're going at it pretty good.'
"They're going at it pretty good," added the fan.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Texas Teen Escapes Death by Rabies
Thank God for teachers, who realized that without rabies shots, Hunter would end up like these guys who have their photos permanently enshrined on the website of the Center for Disease Control.
- What is Jack's IQ?
- Where were Jack's parents during all of this?
- How long did the fox lie in Jack's yard?
- Do you consider Jack a hero or an imbecile?
- Does the family of this man who apparently died a miserable death at the hands of rabies in 1958 know their ancestor's agonizing last photos are on the Internet?
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Bonds HR Ball Headed to Moon?
- Donate the ball to the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
- Brand the ball (shown right) with an asterisk and ask the Hall if it will accept it into the museum.
- Put it on the space shuttle, satellite launcher or some other kind of rocket and put it into orbit around the earth.
Ecko, who once produced a hoax film depicting him tagging Air Force One with graffiti, said yesterday during an interview on The Today Show that he wants to "democratize" the ball that eclipsed Hank Aaron's all-time home run record. Thus, he has set up a website where collectors can vote on the fate of the ball
The vote ends Sept. 25, but vote early and vote often. I hit my vote several times and the website never kicked me back for multiple votes from the same IP address, nor does the site require any log in or email recognition. For a guy who thrives on marketing and publicity, it seems Ecko missed a chance to grab some names . . . and maybe even a future buyer for the ball.
-- courtesy Beckett.com
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Doctors and Cameras Mean Trouble
Here's the deal. If you ever go to the doctor's office -- for anything -- and they call for a camera, you are in trouble.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Want to Buy Donkey
Wanted: Spotted donkey
Date: 2007-9-1, 10:33PM
My grandparents are looking for a spotted donkey--903-762-6708...thank you very much.
I couldn't help myself. . .
on the phone, he sounded like a guy in his mid-20s who said he used to live with his grandparents but "wasn't around much anymore."
He said donkeys go for anything from $850 to $1,200, but he just missed a $50 classified sale on a juvenile donkey by a few hours the other day ("the guy was moving and getting rid of everything quick").
It seems his grandma's last of two horses recently died, and grampa is too old to care for more horses. But grandma still wants to care for something, and donkeys are smaller and don't eat as much.
"We wanted to get a spotted donkey because we thought it would be fun to look at," the guy said.
Years ago in the Farmersville Times, I saw a four-word classified that read Want to Buy Donkey, and I have seen several similar ads over the years.
"Lots of people use donkeys to herd with their sheep or chickens," the East Texan said. "They can be a little bit mean, and they run off foxes and coyotes."
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Pull [off] My Finger?
- For $500,000, would you allow one of your pinkie fingers to be medically amputated? And . . .
- For $1.5 million, would you cut off one of your own pinkies using a hatchet, paper cutter, car door, chain saw, whatever? You could cut it off at at hospital if so desired.
I said "no" to both propositions, as I personally am against any type of elective disfiguration. About half of the people asked, however, said yes to the $1.5 million. I guess everyone has a price.
You won't, however, be cutting off any fingers with this table saw, which should be standard equipment in every junior high shop class. Check out what it does to this hot dog.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
SportsCenter is Next
Besides earning 1999 Songwriter of the Year in the Country Music Awards for penning the Faith Hill hit, The Kiss, Annie Roboff also wrote one of the most listened to tunes in history.
On an interview on her website, the webmaster interviews Roboff:
Interviewer: How does it feel to know that one of your songs is listened to by so many men every single day – The ESPN Sports Center Theme?
Roboff: Well, the thing about the ESPN sports center theme, was that it was originally music to the defunct Satellite News Channel. They went out of biz really fast and sold that music to ESPN. I love that so many guys know that theme...I never saw a penny from the everyday play, because it had been sold to the Satellite News Service as a buy out (it was the very early days of cable when no 'rules' had been established).
Roboff also composed numerous other Top 10 country chart songs, but at tip of the hat from BackPage for one of the best ever, the SportsCenter theme song.
Monday, September 10, 2007
You Ain't No Chicken Hawk!
I always thought a Night Hawk was a chain of restaurants in the Austin area, or a frozen dinner by the same name which frequented many a Mr. Peabody dinner table.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Great Lakes Are Great
With 20 percent of the world's fresh water withing their shores, they actually produce their own climate, called the Lake Effect.
Spend a few moments surfing some information on the Great Lakes and their history, political impact, maritime significance, weather influence, and yes, even the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Here are a couple of photos. One shows the Great Lakes from space -- very impressive. The other (right) shows my son, Scott, contemplating the meaning of life while standing on the shores of Lake Erie, the shallowest of the Great Lakes at about 60 feet, a few weeks ago.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Evel Auction Snakes Seller
I was at Moody Coliseum on the campus of SMU in Dallas, watching what then was called "closed circuit television" of Evel Knievel's "motorcycle" jump over Idaho's Snake River Canyon.
The jump was a daredevil failure but a commercial success, as millions of P.T. Barnum's "suckers" paid up all over the nation to watch Evel shoot off the launching pad, his parachute on his rocket unfurled early, and he drifted into the canyon. . . it was a hell of a lot safer than when he tried to jump the fountains at Caesars Palace in 1967 (below).
The X-2 rocket? I had no idea where that thing ended up, until this week, when it showed up at auction. The guy, I guess the curator of a motorcycle museum in Niagara Falls, Canada, wanted $2,100 but didn't get it.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Ol' Blue Eye(s)
You are:
- Mesmerized by the blue eye.
- Scared of the blue eye.
- Wanting to skewer the blue eye with a molten-hot poker.
If you're Sgt. Dave Karsnia of the Minneapolis Airport PD, you wait until the man sits down in the stall next to you and flirtatiously rubs his hand under the stall on your side. Then, you slide your badge under his side of the stall and point toward the door, like, "See you outside, buster."
It's old news that Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) is teetering on the brink of resignation from the world's most exclusive club. But if you haven't read Sgt. Karsnia's arrest report where he refers to the 62-year-old's peering, touching and preening, you're missing out on some serious social underbelly behavior.
'Course the real Ol' Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra, was booked into jail in 1938 in New Jersey, also for a sex crime -- the 23-year-old was messin' with a married woman. The charge of adultery later was dropped.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Vick's Apology Script at $10,000 and Rising
Currently nearing the $10,000 mark is this note on an Omni Hotel notepad (right) bearing the handwritten talking points for Michael Vick's "apology speech." It allegedly was found Aug. 27 at the hotel's news conference room on the speaker's rostrum in Richmond, Va., after Vick's address. You can see Vick carry the note into the room before the speech (see video below).
Is it Vick's handwriting? Can't say, but use of personal pronoun "I" seems to indicate a hastily-prepared outline from Vick.
The speech seemed to me as genuine and from-the-heart. But Vick has lied before, so who knows what a man is feeling when faced with hard time.
Was the note penned by a PR man, and why does a man need notes to say he's sorry? Well, even the Gettysburg Address was handwritten before Lincoln delivered it, so no harping on Vick for organizing his thoughts in writing.
Maybe as an afterthought on the notes, the author added "dogs have suffered." That never was mentioned in Vick's speech. For a guy known as a finisher, Vick never completed his game plan.
Someone else who will suffer when she sees Vick's spelling is the head of Virginia Tech Athletics Student Life program, Megan L. Armbruster, charged with making sure student/athletes make the grade in the classroom as well.
BTW, what the heck is a Hokie, anyway?
What Ever Happened to Hard Work?
I personally enjoy this time with my own boys, and with the other boys on their teams. However, from time to time, you will have to endure an email or phone call from a parent explaining how busy their life is dropping and picking up their player from practices, or how difficult it is for Joey to bat in the lower half of the lineup.
(If more people understood how a batting lineup is supposed to work, it would all make sense.)
Parents want their kids to play a high level of select baseball, yet they many times do not encourage the player to work on his own to make it happen. Select baseball, like any travel-level sport, requires skills taught in practice by an instructor/coach. But those skills must be honed by the player on the player's own time. Whether it is the player's dad/mom helping him with the drills or encouraging him to work on his game, or time spent with a private instructor; it doesn't matter.
The point is, a player cannot expect to attend two or three team practices a week and make significant personal progress -- he must work on his own. Team practices make the team alot better; personal workouts make the individual player alot better.
It seems there is a level of entitlement (from which some, but not all, suffer) leaving some parents and players thinking, "If I want it, I should get it."
What ever happened to hard work?
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Endangered Species
* Two kids playing catch with a baseball in the yard.
* Football coaches being carried off of the field (instead of doused with sport drink) after a big win.
* Front-yard flagpoles.